{phew!}

first off, a huge congratulations to my beautiful best friend and roommate of 6 years, katie fort for getting engaged last night!!!!!  brad, you're a lucky man (and don't you forget that!).  eeeeek!  it's crazy that this time 6 years ago, we were all excited and planning out rooms for waller.  we have certainly come a long way (especially b/c if you've ever seen waller, anything after that place is an improvement)!  i can't wait to watch you two begin your lives together :)  love you both!

i think i turned 20 in this picture... eek

sledding in the bowl

graduation! katie is officially an MSW!

today is also strange because i applied for unemployment.  the lovely summer school and then internship in the fall leaves about zero time for work, considering this summer i go from 8am-6pm and then after that it's working full time fo free.  awesome!
i have worked faithfully at 7 am (because waking up super early is the only way i've been able to work the past 3 years), and while i didn't make much, it paid the bills.  without working, it's gonna be rough, BUT i'm trying to remember matthew 6:25-34 today:

Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

i like this passage because it makes me realize, yes, God loves me so much more than a bird or a flower... he's going to provide.  one way or another, it's going to be fine.  either i get unemployment and all is hunky dory (also, i don't think i've ever typed that before... it looks strange), or i find an incredibly random job that only wants strange hours of work, or something works itself out.  it always does! 

if nothing else, i'm getting a great education in something that i love and can't wait to work (which how lucky is that?  i'm pumped to work... ), i have a great and loving family, my best friend is getting married, i have super fabulous roommates, a wonderful boyfriend, and to top it off, monday i start classes with classmates that i've missed over the break!  life is good.

heck... even broke is good.  not all the time, but honestly, by not having money, i live cheaply, i don't stress over how i'm going to pay off my new car, and i'm content with what i have.  what more can you ask for, right?  bring on that ramen!  cheers for my 20 year old car!  high fives for getting creative with my dates!  this is all building amazing character :)